They got up from their sewing machines and walked out on strike more than forty years ago, but today the Dagenham women machinists who fought for equal pay were awarded the ‘Good Housekeeping’ Women of the Year Outstanding Achievement Award.

Almost 30 Greenpeace activists face up to 15 years in a Russian prison after protesting at an Arctic oil drilling rig. Others brought a Champions League match in Switzerland to a standstill, dropping down on ropes from a stadium roof before unfurling a banner critical of the Russian oil giant Gazprom. Still more activists scaled the Shard in central London, western Europe's largest building, to object to Shell's oil exploration at the top of the world.

The supermarket giant Tesco has apologised for advertising an inflatable “gay best friend” doll on its website. The figure was described as being “ready to give you fashion advice, tell you if your bum looks big and b**ch about everyone who doesn’t wear Jimmy Choos”.